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| Dylan Clem, right, will see Calvin football and the Rivalry up close on Saturday, while trying to keep quarterback Ben Wellman from seeing it too closely. Hope athletics photo by Leslie Palmer |
By Brian Lester
D3sports.com
Offensive lineman Dylan Clem has seen the Hope-Calvin rivalry up close in other sports. He’s gone to basketball games and volleyball games involving the two schools in a well-known long-standing rivalry.
On Saturday, Clem and his Hope teammates will be a part of that rivalry for the first time as athletes as the unbeaten and 16th-ranked Flying Dutchmen take on the Knights with a chance to clinch a share of the MIAA crown and an NCAA Division III playoff berth.
Calvin is a first-year football program with a 2-6 record. Hope is 8-0 and having a season to remember.
Clem has seen a lot of memories made in those other sports he's watched that pit Hope against Calvin.
He's looking forward to being the one to help make memories this week.
“All those Hope-Calvin games we’ve gone to are always electric. The stands are always full. The student sections on both sides are full,” Clem said. “I’ve witnessed other sports succeed in that rivalry and for us, we want to do the same. We want to represent Hope in front of a big crowd and make it proud.”
Head coach Peter Stuursma is as excited as his players to experience the gridiron edition of the rivalry for the first time.
“We’re very honored to be a part of it,” Stuursma said. “We’ve read about some of these other rivalries, and we are in one from a football standpoint. We’re very honored, but it goes back to the same things we always talk about, and that’s trying to be 1-0 every week.”
Linebacker Andrew Debri seconds that thought.
“We’re excited about representing Hope, and that we get to showcase our team in a big game. But we’ll prepare for this game like any other game, with the same mentality we always have every other week.”
Hope has had quite the journey over the last few years. The Flying Dutchmen were just 6-4 two years ago but went 8-2 last year, missing out on a playoff opportunity as they finished second to runner-up Alma in MIAA with a 5-1 mark.
They won their final three games of last season, however, and haven't missed a beat this season, scoring 40-plus seven times and allowing no more than 18 points in any game this year. Five of their opponents have been shutout.
Stuursma showed his emotion after the team’s 41-14 win over Albion last week on senior day. He has 23 seniors on the team as well as five fifth-year guys.
“I was very emotional because this is a very special group of young men,” Stuursma said. “They are good human beings and obviously really good football players, but they have hung together and grown, and overcome a lot.”
Stuursma adds all of it will benefit them in life after this football life is done.
“It all matters,” Stuursma said. “In the game of football, so much carries over to the real world.”
Clem is one of the fifth-year seniors. He was a 2023 D3football.com All-Region and All-America selection. He chose to come back for one final year because he knew the kind of season Hope is having was a real possibility.
“To put it all together, with all these seniors, is great,” Clem said. “I was on the 6-4 team two years ago and remember coming up short last year. It’s been a lot of fun. I made the decision to come back because we had a chance to succeed, and I wanted to play with this team one more time. It’s been awesome.”
Debri, a standout linebacker with 34 tackles on a defense that is allowing just 201 yards per game, said the belief was in place that a conference championship was within reach in 2024.
“Our motto is that those who stay will be champions, and we feel the dedication and all the hard work put in during the offseason, and the commitment we have made to each other, is paying off,” Debri said. “Staying on the path we are on, and staying motivated, it’s been special and has taught me lessons I’ll be thankful for for a long time.”
Clem said one thing that has changed for Hope this season is it has stayed locked in on the task at hand.
“It’s the grit of everyone on the team, and taking it one game at a time,” Clem said. “We used to circle dates, games that we felt we needed to win, and we really got away from that this year. We’ve taken each day to get better as an offense and defense, and that is what has shown up on Saturday.
“We play off each other well,” Clem continued. “When our defense gets a stop, our offense can score. When our offense scores, our defense turns around and gets us the ball back.”
Offensively, Hope is cranking out 537.6 yards per game and has outscored the opposition 357-64.
Clem has played a key role in that success by doing his job up front, giving Ben Wellman time to throw for more than 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns and opening the door for Chance Strickland to rush for nearly 1,000 yards (885) and 17 touchdowns. Grant Holtzer has caught 27 passes for 651 yards and six touchdowns.
“I love the way this team comes to work. They are a lot of fun to be around,” Stuursma said. “Our defense is playing fast and furious, and our offense is playing at a very high level. They play off each other well and focus on controlling the controllables.”
Stuursma added that it takes a certain kind of player to produce the success Hope has had this season.
“It takes dudes, and our dudes are playing well, and that’s neat to watch,” Stuursma said. “I love watching our guys care for each other and play hard for each other all the time. It doesn’t mean we are perfect. We’re not. But we have a good chance to win if our guys care about each other and go about their business the right way.”
Debri said the determination of this team is special as well.
“It’s the vision to be honest,” Debri said. “We didn’t come here to be losers. We came here to be winners. We feel we have that winning mentality and the mindset that we can achieve anything and be the most successful team possible. It has really helped us get to where we are this year.”
